Have you ever wondered whether something is really worth your time, energy, and effort?

Being bombarded with numerous requests on a regular basis can make it difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Sure, that networking event may seem like a fantastic opportunity…but how about that camping trip with your hiking group, or your upcoming high school reunion?

How can you tell what’s worth your time, and what isn’t?

I’ll give you a little hint: it all begins and ends with you!

In this post, you’ll find some time management tips to help you figure out what is really worth your time.

Is the item in question in line with your current goals?

Does the invite, appointment, meeting, or task in question have anything to do with your current goals?

You might have to take a step beyond your day-to-day routine to get a bird’s eye view of what’s at stake.

So, take time to do some careful thinking. How does the item in question relate to your immediate future?

You can gain some insight by asking yourself the following questions:

• What are my current goals?
• What do I want to accomplish today?
• What do I want to accomplish tomorrow?
• What do I want to accomplish this week?
• What do I want to accomplish next week?  

Will you benefit from this item in the long run?

What seems important today, may not actually be all that important in several months’ time.

What long-term benefit will you derive from participating in the activity, attending the event, or working on an issue?

How will you benefit from this item in the long-run? How will it affect your life and goals?

Will the item truly be of interest or concern, in say, two- or five-years’ time? It’s definitely worth giving this some thought!

Conduct some targeted research.

Still wondering whether or not something is worth your time?

You may want to conduct some quick research to see if you actually need to attend a function.

The idea here is to see if you can secure information or materials related to the item in question.

If it is possible to do so through some other method, why, you may not need to attend the function in the first place!

Here’s an example for you. Let’s say you’ve been invited to an informational meeting for your community volunteer group.

You’d love to go to the meeting, but your schedule is extremely busy this week.

Could you possibly skip the meeting and secure the informational packet from the meeting organizers?

Could you watch an informational video on the group’s website?

Could you meet up with a neighbor next week to discuss what happened during the meeting? 

It’s worth taking a few moments to do some research. You never know what you may find!

How about you? Can you think of a recent experience in your life such as an appointment, meeting or task, that gave you pause to consider whether it was really worth your time and effort…or not? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!